Pirate Parents

Exercise for your brain!

When kids play tag or engage in sports and other vigorous physical activity, not only do they make their bodies become fit, they are also making themselves smart. Exercise has many good effects on the brain, not only for adults, but also and more importantly, for kids. According to Phil Tomporowski, exercise science professor at the University of Georgia, exercise has “a more long-lasting effect on brains that are still developing.”

According to U.S. researchers, exercise builds new brain cells in a brain region called dentate gyrus, which is linked with memory and memory loss. According to John Ratey MD, of Harvard Medical School, exercise also stimulates nerve growth factors. “I call it Miracle-Gro for the brain,” he says. People who exercise regularly have improved short-term memory, exhibit faster reaction time, and have higher level of creativity.

Tips to help your kids stay active:

1. Set example to kids by being active yourself. Engage in a lot of walking, running, biking or playing sports. A study suggests that preschool kids whose moms are active also tend to be active themselves. Parents affect their kids in three ways – by acting as role models, by helping them to be active, and by being active with them.

2. Make fitness a priority in your home. Set limits on watching TV, playing video games, and being in the internet.

3. Make fitness fun. Engage your kids in fun sports or other games which he loves

4. Encourage your kid to walk.Encourage your kid to run. Teach him the joys of jogging. Run with your kid, or make it a social activity, with friends or relatives.

5. Encourage your kid to use wheels. Not wheels of a car, but bikes, scooters, rollerblades or skateboards (make sure they have adequate protection like helmet, elbow pads, long pants).

6. Encourage your kid to dance. Dancing is one thing some kids enjoy more than conventional exercise.

October Asset Builder of the Month - Toni McCoy

Toni McCoy is a fourth grade student at Frank Nicholas Elementary and is our choice for Asset Builder of the Month. Toni exemplifies many of the 42 Developmental Assets. At home, she has a lot of family support from her mom, dad, and older sister (Asset #1). Her sister, who is in high school, and her mom are definitely her role models (Asset #14). She enjoys attending church with all of them each Sunday (Asset #19). She is responsible (Asset #30) for feeding and bathing her dog Wisteria. At school, Toni’s teachers have complimented her on how respectful and caring she is (Asset #26). She is honest (Asset #29) and turns her homework in on time each week (Asset #23). Toni participates on a competition cheer team called “Cheer Magic” (Asset #18). She also uses her creative talents in “A Brush of Hope” which is an organization designed to encourage young girls to make positive changes in their lives through their art and creativity. In her spare time, she loves to read (Asset#25). In fact, that’s her favorite asset. Her all-time favorite series is Goosebumps. Mystery books such as those are the reason she wants to become a detective in the future (Asset #40). Congratulations, Toni, for being our Asset Builder of the Month.

1st Grade

Alexis and Trayvon working on their hunks and chunks.

2nd Grade

Jasia, Bryant and Katie having fun while sequencing a story.

3rd Grade

Makayla and Ayden doing a stellar job on their Non-Fiction Text Features foldable.

1st Grade

Alexis and Trayvon working on their hunks and chunks.

2nd Grade

Jasia, Bryant and Katie having fun while sequencing a story.

3rd Grade

Makayla and Ayden doing a stellar job on their Non-Fiction Text Features foldable.

4th Grade

Alexis is doing research on the Chromebook on her Ohio Inventor.

5th Grade

5th graders reading and taking notes about their region in social studies.

littleBits

Tatiyana and Jason exploring the littleBit circuits. The kids loved them! Future engineers in the making!

4th Grade

Alexis is doing research on the Chromebook on her Ohio Inventor.

5th Grade

5th graders reading and taking notes about their region in social studies.

littleBits

Tatiyana and Jason exploring the littleBit circuits. The kids loved them! Future engineers in the making!

Fire Safety Program

STUDENTS CAN EARN CHANCE FOR RIDE TO SCHOOL IN FIRE TRUCK

WEST CARROLLTON, Ohio - Any West Carrollton School District student who attends and completes the Fire Safety Program at the West Carrollton Branch Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 will have the opportunity to win breakfast with the fire department and a ride to school in a fire truck.

Josh Whitehead, West Carrollton firefighter-paramedic, will host the ‘Fire, Fire, Safety at Home’ night at the library as part of the “Reading Hero” program and National Fire Safety Week which is Oct. 5-9. The event will include story time and a touch-a-truck event. Students will be asked to complete a home fire safety plan and return it to the library.

The fire department will review the home-safety fire plans and then randomly pick three winners to have breakfast with the firefighters at Fire Station 56 located at 125 W. Central Ave. on Wednesday, October 21. The winning students will also get the opportunity to ride on a fire engine to school that morning.

For more information, contact the West Carrollton Branch Library at (937) 496-8962.